InsiderFlowGlossary › What are small cap stocks?

What are small cap stocks?

Small caps are listed companies of modest size, usually under $2 billion in market value: riskier, but with more room to grow.

A small cap can grow tenfold in a few years — nearly impossible for a trillion-dollar giant — but it can also fail or stay forgotten for decades. They're less covered by analysts, hence less efficient: that's where active managers hunt for bargains.

Historically small caps have outperformed large caps over very long horizons (the "size premium"), at the cost of much greater volatility and drawdowns.

Concrete example

Amazon in 1997 was a $400 million small cap: whoever recognized it early multiplied their investment thousands of times. But for every Amazon, hundreds of small caps vanished.

How you see it in InsiderFlow

On InsiderFlow these concepts come alive on real data: what big funds and insiders are buying, explained every day.

Frequently asked questions

Do small caps always beat large caps?

No: the size premium comes and goes over decades. Since 2010, mega-cap tech has dominated.

How do you invest in small caps with less risk?

Through dedicated ETFs (e.g. Russell 2000) that diversify across hundreds of names.

Related terms

What is market capitalization?What are blue chip stocks?What is volatility?